The present invention relates generally to the generation of electronic health records. More particularly, the present invention relates to intelligent computer-implemented systems and methods for passively collecting voice data associated with caregiver-patient encounters and transforming the voice data for generation of an electronic health record with a minimal burden on the caregiver.
The United States spends more than seventeen percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) on healthcare—more than any other country. Healthcare costs are out of control, and healthcare organizations must adapt in today's business environment in order to be successful. They must be focused and efficient. Unfortunately, the vast majority of the industry remains terribly inefficient, and is only enabled by a broken healthcare delivery and reimbursement system.
Today, four-fifths of medical documentation relies on paper—in clinic and hospital forms—which is compiled into bulky charts that require significant storage space. Not only are these charts inefficient to handle, they are “dumb” and afford for nearly zero data-mining capacity. Likewise, numerous clinicians and other providers continue to rely on their memories to “store” information prior to actually documenting patient encounters.
In response, a robust healthcare information technology (HIT) has developed and electronic medical records are becoming adopted to better streamline the healthcare system and processes. However, many existing systems and methods continue to require substantial interaction on the part of the physician or other healthcare provider, meaning that not only have the beneficial effects of the technology failed to reach their potential, but that actual implementation of such systems remains relatively and undesirably low.
For example, certain systems exist which are capable of transcribing voice data associated with a medical procedure and creating an associated record, but which require the physician to follow a predetermined template or format in dictating the procedure. It would be desirable to provide a system which is effective for passively receiving voice data in any given arrangement, format, or the like, and generating a formal medical record without extensive and supplemental physician interaction.